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A new report released today by the PennPIRG Education Fund, in conjunction with U.S.PIRG, demonstrates that Americans have been driving less since the middle of last decade. The report, Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People are Driving Less and What it Means for Transportation Policy, shows that young people in particular are decreasing the amount they drive and increasing their use of transportation alternatives.

The United States Congress is currently considering so-called “regulatory reform” legislation that would add new bureaucratic hurdles to stall and, in some cases, stop the creation of new safeguards and standards that hold corporations accountable and protect the public. According to our analysis, the result would be demonstrable harm for the people of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia, PA – A new report by Demos and PennPIRG finds that Pennsylvanian’s lives, health and livelihoods would be at risk if so-called “regulatory reform” proposals were to become law, slowing or stopping the regulatory process.

A new Washington Post- ABC News poll shows that almost 7 out of 10 voters believe that super PACs, the independent expenditure only committees created in the wake of the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision, should be illegal. Super PACs are not responsible for all problems with American democracy, however, they do amplify those troubles so it is no surprise that the public is crying out in opposition to them.

Last year, in the 175 days that the U.S. House of Representatives was in session, it passed more than 190 anti-regulatory bills. Putting profits over public safety and they are still at it. Next up is H.R. 4078, the “Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act of 2012,” a bill that wrongly calls for a halt on all public health and consumer safety protections until the unemployment rate reaches six percent. The House Judiciary Committee is expected to mark up the bill today, Tuesday, March 20.

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The U.S. Senate’s handling of food safety protections was called into question Wednesday in a study released by PennPIRG, the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Tainted cheese, lettuce and waffles are among the 56 food recalls that have affected Pennsylvania since stronger food-safety legislation stalled in Congress in July 2009, according to a study released this week.

The average Pennsylvania family makes $50,702 a year and pays roughly $1,556 in state income taxes. Corporations that make millions of dollars in Pennsylvania often face a far lower state income tax bill. In fact, 71 percent pay nothing at all.

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Featured Position

Our Campaign Organizers don’t just sit behind a desk. You’ll be out in the real world — recruiting new groups to join a coalition, speaking in a church basement or town hall to win a new endorsement, organizing a news event or rally, meeting with an editorial board, or doing whatever else it takes to urge our public officials to do the right thing. This is a two-year program, expressly designed to prepare future leaders within PIRG.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ushered in an era of unprecedented spending by big money in our elections, but we're working to return our democracy back to the principle of "one person, one vote."